Words of Stone

The New Sculpture in Front of the Office of Commander of the Airbase Former Commander of the Flight Experiment Center Squadron returned to “Tel-Nof” Airbase to contribute a statue he created

Lilach Gonen

In a ceremonious event, the new sculpture was placed at the center of the airbase, donated by Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Moshe Harel, who once served as commander of the Flight Experiment Center Squadron of the IAF.

The wraps were cut off to reveal the new sculpture, which will be based in front of the office of Commander of the Airbase. The ceremony included Major General Ido Nehushtan, Commander of the IAF, Brigadir General Amikam Norkin, Commander of “Tel-Nof” Airbase, the current commander of the Flight Experiment Center Squadron and the artist Moshe Harel along with his family.

The words “This melody cannot be stopped”, is carved into the sculpture, which is made completely of stone and conceptualizes endless rings. “I worked on this sculpture for a long time and I’m happy it found its place here”, said Harel.

Like the Phoenix

Harel served in the IAF for 21 years, was an experiment engineer in the founding of the Flight Experiment Center and the fourth commander of said squadron.A year ago he even put on his uniform again when he joined “Tel-Nof” Airbase’s delegation to Poland’s death-camps, as part of the “Witnesses in Uniform” program commemorating Holocaust victims. Following his experience in Poland, Harel decided to donate his creation to the airbase.

“It was very important to me to go on that trip in uniform, because we, like the phoenix, have risen from nothing”, said Harel. “Hitler didn’t imagine that a Lieutenant Colonel in Israeli pilot garb would stand there one day”.